Ann Kearaki

The Histories

The Histories of the Stevens—Croot Family Heritage

Ann Kearaki /Kiaraki (~1816—1848)

“Ann” Kearaki , a native Maori, was born around 1816. She met her future husband, John Clark Lidiard in Akaroa when Lidiard was working at the whaling station there. They were married according to tribal custom. Lidiard brought Kearaki south first to Otago Heads and then to Bluff in 1835. Their daughter, Ann Lidiard was born there in 1837.

It was not until 3rd February 1844 that John Clark Lidiard and Kearaki had the opportunity to solemnize their marriage according to European custom when Bishop Selwyn married them and several other Pakeha-Maori couples in a single ceremony in Bluff.

It is believed that Kearaki (also spelled as ‘Kiaraki’) came from a tribe in the Akaroa region and is listed as entry No 1173 in the Blue Book of “Ngai-tahu Kaumatua Alive in 1848” issued by the Ngai-tahu Maori Trust Board.

Kearaki died in Bluff and was buried there around 1848.

An Unintentional Exhumation?

According to an account found on the internet, Ann Kearaki's remains were accidentally uncovered when Tiwai Smelter was being built. It was said to be an unusual find, as she was clutching an adze in her left hand, possibly indicating a person of high rank.

Internet posting by “Juanita” May 6, 2003. On the ‘GENEoNZ - Maori Queries’ site

While this event has not yet been substantiated with other references or evidence and indeed has been refuted by another internet posting, it does suggest that the stories told by my grandfather about a Maori princess in the family had a ring of truth.

Ann Kearaki (Kiaraki)’s listing in the
‘Ngai-tahu Kaumatua Alive in 1848 ‘

Tiwai (or “dug-out canoe”) is the Maori name for the tip of a long windswept strand within the Bluff harbour of Murihiku.

Before construction of the Tiwai Point smelter began, the building zone was excavated, between 1967 and 1969, by anthropologists from Otago Museum. They established that the Tiwai site had produced some of the most aesthetically satisfying and technically efficient adzes in Polynesia.

The neolithic Maori manufacturing economy around Tiwai was elaborate, and included stone and bone tools, flax containers, skin clothing, and wooden canoes. Later Victorian-era Pakeha industrial activities in that same area included shipbuilding and the making of railways.

Archeological Finds in Tiwai

In Comparatively Speaking: Studies in Pacific Material Culture , published by Otago University Press in 1972, H.D. Skinner states: “Murihiku - the southern half of the South Island - contains a greater variety of rocks from which implements can be made than all the other parts . . . of Polynesia put together. The Murihiku implement maker could therefore experiment to an extent impossible elsewhere.”

Murihiki Implement Makers

Murihiku—
‘muri’ end, ‘hiku’ tail.
End of the tail and so was named the southern end of the South Island.

Editor’s Note

Much of Kearaki’s life is a mystery, but she seems to be a person of interest to more than her descendants. Another family member, who is dedicated to documenting the life of John Clark Lidiard (to read her version of his story visit the website: www.myancestorsstory.com ), had this to say in an email dated 17 Apr 2007:

“I just found out the other day that Kearaki was known as Sarah which was quite a surprise to me because I had never heard that before. The head of Ngai Tahu Whakapapa told me that he takes a personal interest in the story of Kearaki and her daughter Nancy, but of course they can't seem to tell me anything about them! “